Qatar warns Israel's ceasefire violations threaten Gaza truce, pushes for second stage
Qatar has warned that Zionist regime’s violations of the Gaza ceasefire are troubling even as Doha works to maintain the truce in the besieged territory.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the country continues to monitor the agreement and is striving to prevent the ceasefire from collapsing.
He stressed that Zionist regime’s breaches “threaten the agreement and weaken its impact.”
“This is the longest ceasefire” since Israel’s genocidal war began more than two years ago, al-Ansari noted, adding that efforts are ongoing to turn the current truce into the second phase of the Gaza agreement.
"We think that we should be pushing the parties to stage two very, very soon,” the spokesman stated.
During the first phase of the so-called Gaza peace plan, initially outlined by US President Donald Trump, Palestinian resistance group Hamas and its allies were due to return all 48 captives they held, 20 of whom were still alive.
Hamas and Palestinian resistance factions have largely remained committed to the ceasefire deal.
The Qatari spokesperson added that the return of the remains of Zionist captives should not impede progress towards the second stage of the agreement.
"As we have always said, the logistical situation in Gaza would certainly make it difficult to reach this result," Ansari said, referring to the return of the bodies.
Under the second phase of the deal, Israel is to withdraw from its positions in the besieged territory, an interim authority is to govern Gaza, and an international stabilization force is to be deployed.
The plan is based on Trump's 20-point project for Gaza's future, including only a single line that envisions the possibility of a future Palestinian state.
The agreement outlines a Trump-chaired "Board of Peace" to oversee affairs in the besieged Palestinian territory as a transitional authority. It also authorizes an "international stabilization force" that would ensure "demilitarization" of Gaza.
Rights groups and activists last month denounced the UN Security Council’s adoption of a resolution backing the US plan for foreign forces in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Hamas resistance movement and other Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad, have condemned the resolution for imposing an “international guardianship” over Palestinians.